Another No-Good Field Trip
by BoxAttack
Summary: Peter Parker is not having a good day. AKA, Where Peter's decathlon team take a field trip to the Avengers Compound, Vision's a menace, and Peter really doesn't want to go. -Sequel now up!-
1. The No-Good Week

**AN: **_Just a quick note here! This is my first real fic, may as well kick it off with the field trip trope. I love reading these, so I thought, "Hey, let's try writing one". Peter's identity usually get's revealed in some super intense situation, which works well, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to try something different. Please have a read, maybe a review at the end? That would mean a lot to me. Thanks very much, and I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Peter Parker was not having a good day.

See, the thing is, Peter is a pretty intelligent dude, but that doesn't mean he has a lot of common sense.

Oh, don't get him wrong, he knows the basics, but he tends to overanalyse situations when really the solution's pretty simple; Like when he accidentally gave the team food poisoning after the dumpling incident and set fire to the compound (his Aunt May's cooking hasn't taught him much), or when he tried to explain to his teacher that yes, he did have a Stark internship, and no sir, he didn't want to come clean before the field trip, thank you very much.

It had started with the disaster that was the Acadec Washington trip, though anyone with eyes could see that Mr Harrington has been at the end of his rope for a while. Too many lost students, near-death experiences and constant jibing from teenagers will do that to a guy. So, after that trainwreck of a field trip, he decided that he just couldn't handle any more trips.

Of course, that was before Principal Morita excitedly told him about the deal he'd managed to get from Miss Virginia Potts herself, CEO of the world's leading tech industry, for a few select students to attend a tour of the Avengers Compound facility upstate. And being the heartfelt man Morita was, of course he meant for those poor kids who almost lost their lives on their last trip to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour the actual Avengers facility.

Now, Mr Harrington couldn't say he wasn't looking forward to the tour himself, but if something went wrong he felt he might drop everything and move to Canada. Hence, he needed to prevent disaster before it occurred, so he needed to talk to the source of most (if not all) of his field trip drama.

On that bright and sunny Monday morning, Peter walked into Midtown and knew it was going to be a bad day.

He'd spent his weekend at his Aunt's, as he usually did unless a mission came up, and it'd been nice. They'd stayed in and had a Harry Potter marathon and ordered takeout, May was on call but hadn't had any issues, so while it wasn't completely relaxed it was still good to spend quality time with his Aunt. Since he'd moved into the compound they hadn't had much time to chill out, and while he'd never regret his decision to become an Avenger, it was nice to catch up and be just the two of them again. He'd be heading to Vienna the next Saturday to sign the Sokovia Accords, so he wouldn't see her this weekend either.

When he walked into the school, though, his hackles were immediately raised, so to speak. He felt a faint buzz at the nape of his neck and Peter was on guard right away. He spent his day chatting with Ned and MJ, who he'd recently got closer to through Acadec (he was proud to be considered one of her friends), and everything had been going fine, so he was confused as to why his spidey-sense was going haywire.

That was, until the announcement.

It was at the end of practice that Mr Harrington handed out the papers, and Peter could see his teammates' faces lighting up and whispers starting as they started to read.

"Now guys, I know we haven't had the best of luck with our excursions", he looked at Peter, almost pained. "Though I'm glad to announce that on Friday we'll be taking a tour of the Avengers Compound!"

Peter was doomed.

Mr Harrington continued, "You kids just have to get those forms and NDAs filled and handed in by Wednesday, lunch and transport will be provided, and we'll be arriving back here at around six in the evening because of travel times upstate. Let me know if that's an issue for you and we'll try to work out some travel arrangements. This is a great opportunity for us to see security and tech development in action, and hopefully it'll give you guys an idea of what you want to do when you graduate."

By this point the small group was buzzing with excitement, the Avengers were legends, getting to see where they lived and trained was unheard of. Peter, on the other hand, wanted to bury his face in his hands and cry.

Okay, maybe that was an overstatement, but he'd really rather not have his classmates taking a tour around his home. He, Mr Stark, Pepper and Vision lived at the compound along with Rhodey when he wasn't out of the state, they'd steadily gotten closer to each other and worked well as a team. The compound was Peter's safe space, so he wasn't very comfortable with the prospect of the teens invading his space.

"Dude this is so cool! Do you think we'll meet the Avengers? Or Tony Stark? Oh! Do you think Captain America will be there?"

Peter snorted, "No Ned, he's still on the run."

Ned's face fell slightly, before perking up again, "Oh, right, but you have to admit this is pretty awesome!"

"I don't know, Ned. It doesn't feel like a great idea."

MJ cut in, brushing some stray hair from her face, "It's gonna happen whether you want it to or not, no point in worrying over it."

"I know that MJ, it's just kind of weird y'know? I work there, it's just strange." MJ shrugged and snapped her novel shut, slouching nonchalantly while readying to leave. Peter groaned, frustrated as he grabbed his backpack and turned to leave with Ned and the others.

Flash knocked into him purposefully on the way out, before huffing out a laugh, "Watch out Parker, looks like you can't hide anymore. Such a shame, really, but it'll be fun to watch you flounder, I guess."

Peter rolled his eyes and didn't comment, though he supposed it was good to see Flash back at his usual self, he hadn't been acting right since Homecoming night, he was almost subdued, and Peter found it more unnerving than anything else.

"Peter, could you please hang back for a moment?" Peter startled but nodded his affirmation, said goodbye to Ned and MJ and headed back over to Mr Harrington.

Once the last student had filtered out, Mr Harrington shut the door and motioned for Peter to sit down and sat down himself. There was a stack of papers sitting on his desk which upon closer inspection were an earlier class' test papers, along with some more clutter and stationery.

Mr Harrington started, "Listen, Peter, I know high school can be tough. I know what it's like to feel under pressure to be someone you're not, and I know things can get stressful at this time of year."

Peter nodded, confused.

"Well, there's a good chance we'll be talking to people who work at Stark Industries, and I really don't want you getting in trouble. So maybe tone down or come clean about your, ah, internship." Harrington put it gently, but Peter was still looking at him like he had two heads.

"But sir, it is a real internship," Only a half-lie. "I'm not lying, I can get official documentation if the school needs it."

Mr Harrington looked on, tired. "Very well Peter, I won't press. I must ask though, that you won't try to provoke any of your classmates while we're away. I just want the best for you kids. I also ask that you don't find yourself, ahem, lost while on the tour." He gave him a pointed look.

Peter flushed sheepishly and nodded, "Of course, sir."

Mr Harrington smiled, "Thanks Pete, knew I could rely on you. Now off you go, I have marking to do."

Peter nodded and headed out after grabbing his bag, slightly confused.

Peter was not having a good day.

* * *

The week passed fairly quickly; all things considered. There'd been a few half-hearted run-ins with Flash, and he totally bombed that physics test, but otherwise it was a pretty standard week.

Mr Stark has honest-to-god cackled when he noticed the permission slip and NDAs, as if he'd had no idea, but said nothing. Peter could tell he was plotting something though; he could see his eyes twinkling any time the trip was brought up. Peter was scared.

The Decathlon team had been bouncing all week over the trip, even MJ wasn't immune, she was more hyped about the possibility of meeting Miss Potts, but Peter was drained. It was all they could talk about in their group chats and in school, so there was no escape.

Peter just wanted the trip over with, so he didn't have to worry. He was looking forward to the weekend, so they could escape to Vienna, though he was nervous about the storm that would follow his signing of the accords. See, he knew that in signing, he'd have to reveal himself as Spider-Man. He'd made peace with it, his secret identity for a chance to make real change in the world.

He loves being an Avenger, and he wouldn't change that for anything. May was to be moved to the compound on Saturday morning so there'd be less of a security risk. She was conflicted about the move but knows it's necessary for her own and her nephew's safety.

He and Vision had headed a couple of states over to do some recon on Doom on Thursday night, which didn't go as well as they'd hoped (you try doing reconnaissance with a guy who refuses to use doors), but they'd gathered some intel so it wasn't completely useless.

Friday came soon enough.

He slapped his alarm just before it sounded and heaved himself out of bed. He was still tired from the quinjet home the night before, and he knew it was going to be a long day. Peter grabbed a quick shower and threw on a hoodie and jeans, slipping on his nanotech watch and webshooters.

He grabbed his Stark phone and took a second to catch up on the latest news and messages from Ned and MJ, who had woken up earlier than him and were buzzing about the trip.

Peter knew as soon as he hit the lounge that it was going to be one of those days. He and Mr Stark had a solemn curse that any time Vision decided to cook, nobody should expect to get anything done because it was simply bad luck.

See, the thing is that Vision, while being constantly connected to every public network in the world, was not very good at the simple things. Ask him to access an employee database for an insurance firm over in England, sure, that's no problem. Take down a HYDRA security system? No sweat. However, if you ask him to stick a wash in the washer, you know your spidey suit's gonna end up seven times smaller and green.

One time, Vision tried to change the lightbulbs in the main foyer of the compound, he managed to set alight every socket and fixture in the room and block the main entrance shut. Every employee had to use the back entrance for three days since they couldn't work out what the fault was. Vision is just that skilled. Needless to say, Peter fixes the lightbulbs now.

So that morning, when Peter walked across the threshold of the lounge and spotted Vision attempting to make some toast, he just closed his eyes, exhaled and walked to the public elevator as he heard Vision fumbling with a fire extinguisher and an oven glove.

If you asked Peter, he'd tell you that the subway, while unpleasant, was the fastest way to get to Midtown high from the compound. Who wanted to sit in morning traffic on a trip across the city? That morning wasn't too bad though, he caught his train right as the doors closed and ended up beside someone who was only a bit intrusive and rude.

He did curse his enhanced senses though, since the subway smelled much better before the spider bite.

He reached the school just as the Decathlon squad was getting on the bus, and Mr Harrington gave him a disapproving glance before taking the role. He slumped down in the seat next to an obviously ecstatic Ned Leeds and fiddled with his hoodie strings.

Ned grinned widely as he sat down, "Hey Dude! What's up? Can you believe we're going to _the_ Avengers Compound? I have so many questions. Do you think we'll get to meet Tony Stark? What do you think we're having for lunch?"

"Good morning to you too, Ned." Peter snorted and smiled fondly.

MJ looked up from her book, "Hey loser, how's it going? How's your morning been?"

"It's been good, my cousin set fire to our toaster though. I got the new Lego Star Wars set ordered though, so once it arrives you gotta come over, Ned!"

"Oh yeah, totally dude! That'd be sick!"

The journey passes pretty uneventfully, nothing strange or startling happened, MJ sketched Peter when they brought up his crush on the human torch, and Ned told them about the program he was working on to make any Alexa in a specific radius play Despacito. Flash had been pretty quiet; he'd sat beside Jason and was pretty absorbed in his phone. Mr Harrington sat up front and had fallen asleep five minutes into the trip, and the bus driver was playing some funky 80s tunes.

A wave of awe passed through the bus as the compound came into view. Peter had to admit, it made quite a sight. The compound site consisted of several large silver and white structures, the central one being the largest with the Avengers logo carved into the side. In front of the main building, there was a quinjet in the landing bay, the sun shone down making the buildings glisten in the light.

"Wow," he could hear Flash breath across the bus.

"You _live_ here," Ned whispered, awed.

Peter grinned a little, he couldn't believe it sometimes, himself.

After a second headcount, they filed out of the bus and into the reception of the main building, and the second wave of awe hit the group.

Now, one thing you have to understand about the Avengers Compound facility is that it was designed almost entirely by Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. This means, of course, that it's an elegant, straight-up cool building. When you walk in, you need to have that rush of excitement.

The room was completely open and was themed in shades of silver and blue, with panes of stained glass ornamentally framing the room in a pattern that resembled the Avengers logo. Scattered strategically around the room were seating areas and drinks stations, including water machines and snacks, as well as tech on a secluded network for personal tasks installed into stations lining the room.

Immediately by the entrance was the reception booth and security scanner, where a harsh woman with brown hair pulled back in a bun was standing, holding a clipboard and a small box of ID cards. As the group entered, she turned to them and greeted them professionally.

"You're Midtown tech, right? We've been expecting you. I'm Agent Maria Hill, I'll be your guide today. Since we don't usually do tours, we don't have an assigned guide, so I'll be taking that post today. The first thing we need to get down are the rules, I know that's not much fun, but let's get it out of the way first."

She outlined basic rules of the compound, though they'd been included in their packet before the trip, and the class nodded their agreement before they moved on.

"Now, I'm going to hand out your active ID cards for the day, these are white cards for visitor use. If you need to visit us again they'll be reactivated, but for the time being, they'll only be active for the day. You can hand them back afterward, but feel free to keep them if you want. These cards let our security know that you're sanctioned to be here, and FRIDAY knows not to flag you in our system. Any questions?"

Cindy raised her hand, "What do you mean by white cards?"

Maria smiled at the girl before continuing, "Good question. We'll not get too far into it, but in basic terms, we have 4 main clearance levels with many sub-levels, white is the lowest we can offer you today."

Maria handed out the cards one by one while checking with Mr Harrington that everyone had the right card. Everyone but Peter. Damn Happy's stupid reprint rule.

Maria turned to Peter, "I assume you have your pass, Mr Parker?" Mr Harrington tried not to look shocked.

Peter nodded in affirmation, "Yes ma'am." He then clicked it onto his hoodie, if they were to look closely they'd notice a red and gold outline around his name and details. If they were to look very closely, they'd see a faint holographic spider and Avengers logo on the back.

Ned grinned and nudged him in his side, and MJ looked impressed at the agent that was leading them (in her own, MJ kind of way, of course).

Maria turned to address the group, "Alright, we're going to be heading through this scanner, FRIDAY will scan you and announce you if you're safe and cleared for entry. We shouldn't have any issues, but in a facility like this, we need to take precautions."

The class nodded and Agent Hill stepped through the scanner.

"Agent Maria Hill, SHIELD level access, Gold, Co-director of the SHIELD division. Welcome back, Agent Hill."

A couple of students startled but some chattered excitedly.

Agent Hill nodded the first student into the scanner.

"Betty Brant, Visitor. Enjoy your field trip, Miss Brant."

Betty smiled widely and flushed as she was announced, before heading through to stand by Maria.

This continued through the rest of the students and Mr Harrington. Ned somehow looked even more excited when FRIDAY called his name, and even MJ cracked a smile at the AI.

Peter suddenly got attacked by the invasive image of a smirking Tony Stark and his heart jumped into his throat. He admittedly hadn't thought about this.

He made eye contact with Maria and tried to plead with his eyes to no avail. Mr Harrington gave him a long-suffering Look.

Peter stepped through the scanner.

"Peter Parker, Avenger level access, Red-Gold, Special Operations and Research division. Welcome back, Spider-Man."

Peter Parker was _not_ having a good day.


	2. The No-Good Year

**AN: **_Second chapter! There should only be one more after this one, this one's shorter and pretty Flash-centric, but I hope you enjoy it! This was supposed to be a crack fic, but y'know, sometimes these things happen. **Content warning for depressive thoughts, implied neglect and minor panic later in the chapter.**_

_ Stay safe._

* * *

The thing was, Peter knew on some level that something would go wrong. His spidey sense had been buzzing at the back of his neck for days. He knew something was up. It was why he was so vehemently against the trip.

It wasn't that Peter didn't want his teammates to have a good time on the trip. He didn't want them there, sure, but they were there, so they may as well have a great time. He made sure that each division they'd planned to be public for the day had something interesting lined up for the tour group, and that the tour would be engaging and fun, for the most part.

That was why he'd asked Maria Hill to be their tour guide for the day. She and Peter had met a couple of months back, and they'd hit it off instantly. Maria had been visiting the compound after Stark had announced a new Avenger (without consulting anyone else, of course), and Peter had stumbled in with a stab wound, slightly delirious after losing a pint or so of blood. He fumbled over his words and tried to explain what had happened. Maria practically adopted him on the spot. The two got along well, and Peter knew she'd get along with the kids.

After talking to Miss Potts about the trip, he'd found out that she'd been the one to contact Principal Morita about the excursion, and they'd sat down to plan the day. They had an itinerary drawn up, talked to people in different departments, planned activities and talks, the works.

He knew his teammates; He knew they loved the Avengers like most people in the city, and he knew they adored science and technology. He knew how to make their trip as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. He'd planned for the trip to be their best one yet, not that he'd had much competition after the past few disasters.

What he hadn't planned for, however, was Spider-Man.

"Peter Parker, Avenger level access, Red-Gold, Special Operations and Research division. Welcome back, Spider-Man."

Peter rubbed at his temples.

"Thanks, FRI. Would you mind alerting Happy for me? We have a bit of a situation."

"Of course, Peter. Would you also like me to alert the boss of your arrival?"

Peter exchanged a glance with Maria, who looked as if on the edge of laughter, "Let him know, FRI, but I think we've got this covered."

Of course, this would happen today, of all days. If the trip had been the next week, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. In fact, he might have even welcomed it. He was due to release his identity to the UN panel the next morning, so while he knew his secret identity wouldn't be secret for much longer, he hadn't prepared for his teammates to find out that day. Peter was, frankly, terrified.

Peter drew in a breath and turned to face his teammates, who seemed to be frozen in shock. All except Ned, who looked more amused than shocked, and MJ who looked like she'd finally solved some sort of puzzle. He exhaled, and with it came a nervous chuckle, which broke their stunned reverie.

"_What?_" "Parker, _what?__!_" "Are you kidding?" "_Peter…_"

They shouted out together, their faces cycling through disbelief to _oh, that makes sense_ to _but Peter, really_ and back again, even Mr Harrington looked more than shocked at the AI's announcement. It was Flash's reaction though, that pricked Peter's attention. Flash was silent, his face closed off, his fists clenched at his sides. His ears and cheeks were burning red and his jaw twitched with barely restrained rage. The buzz got louder. Peter prepared for the worst and started to explain.

* * *

Eugene Thompson had not had a good year.

It had started in January. That was the crash. His Dad had been placed in a medically induced coma after a major head injury. Then his mother poured herself into her work and left. Flash had lost both parents within the month. He had visited his dad daily back then, talking to him and willing him to get better.

He kept going to school as normal. He had to. He wasn't weak. He lived at home alone, his driver checking up on him and bringing him groceries now and then.

School was an ordeal. It was hard to drag himself out of bed every morning, and he hated it. Some days he couldn't, and who was there to stop him?

His friends were worried about him, he distantly realised, but after a while they shrugged his behaviour off as the new normal.

Parker had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Flash knew this. He knew he didn't deserve what he did to him. The cruel words felt good to get out of his system, but he knew they weren't targeted at Peter. He was angry at himself. He was even more angry when he kept up his ridiculous behaviour. His grades fell, his friends drifted off, and he drew into himself more.

It was February when he tried to distract himself.

He rediscovered his love of music and got back into mixing, spent more of his free time doing what he enjoyed. He tried to cook more, rather than ordering in and cooking frozen pizzas. He spent less time at the hospital, encouraged by the nursing staff who had seen Flash deteriorate over the month, and he spent more time finding hobbies to pick up.

That was when his driver stopped calling in to check on him and transferred him money for amenities instead. Flash broke down. He didn't know how much that little amount of human contact had meant to him.

It was March when the video came onto his recommended feed.

_"SPIDER-GUY SAVES BUS FROM CRASH?" _The thumbnail displayed a blur in a blue and red… Onesie? And a couple of shocked emojis imposed on top. Flash tapped on the video from sheer boredom.

The video started in the middle of the accident, the viewer could see a school bus swerving to miss a large oil tanker, but it was obviously on course for collision when a person in a red sleeveless hoodie and blue trousers swings(!) in and catches the bus in their bare hands. Flash is fascinated.

The video has a couple of hundred views and a few comments, the fan following who have dubbed the hero "Spider-Man" gushing over his abilities and speculating on his identity. From there Flash is hooked, and he spends the rest of the night finding and watching Spider-Man videos taken on fuzzy cell phone cameras.

It's escapism, Flash knows it is. He knows he shouldn't become so fixated on the hero, but when a few months go by and the guy's obviously picked up by Tony Stark (that suit change, _come on_) Flash only respects him more when his hero style hasn't changed.

The guy looks out for everyday citizens, picking up the slack where the police have been overloaded. His dad had been a police officer. He knew that they appreciated it too, in some way. When he clearly got an update in tech, that didn't change, and Flash could respect that.

Then there was DC. Flash didn't like to think about DC. All he could remember was a blur of panic, and then watching as the web holding them to safety frayed (what was that stuff made of? What sort of tensile strength does it have?) before it snapped. And then Spider-Man saved them all. He'll never not be grateful for that.

Spider-Man inspired Flash to be better. He inspired him to work harder, try harder, be better. So, he was trying.

Homecoming was hard. He'd met Kate earlier that week, and she'd seemed really kind. He asked her to homecoming, offered to treat her for the night. She'd accepted. He needed motivation to push himself, and honestly he was excited for it.

He drove in his dad's car to meet her at her house, brought her to the school where they were met by Spider-Man in his old suit, asking him to borrow his dad's car. Spider-Man had helped him so much, so he'd accepted.

Then the car was written off.

It wasn't about the damage. It was about the value to him. That was his dad's car. Possibly one of his last possessions if the doctors were to be believed (and God, Flash didn't want to believe them, he wasn't ready).

He wasn't mad at Spider-Man, not really. He was frustrated, but he understood when he watched the news. He knew it was necessary. And he breathed out and let it go.

Spider-Man was announced as an Avenger and Flash was happy for him. He deserved his place there; he did good work.

It was about a month after homecoming that his mother came home. She ignored Flash as he rushed to greet her, and she stormed into her and his dad's room. He didn't know what he expected.

That brought him to the field trip. He'd left the forms to be signed with his mother's work, and luckily she signed them.

He was excited though, he'd given a half-hearted jab at Parker, but he really was looking forward to a tour of _the actual_ Avengers compound. Flash was a science nerd, and he'd never deny that; His favourite subject was chemistry, he'd been working on an improved formula for Spider-Man's webs after he'd taken a sample from one of his patrols. So far he'd managed to make them fire-proof, but he'd originally only planned on improving the tensile strength (_the elevator groaning as it fell down the shaft_) which he hadn't managed yet.

The Avengers Compound was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. He wasn't the only one in awe though, which he was glad of, and the interior was just as stunning.

He looked at his visitor's pass with a small smile and grinned widely as the AI announced his arrival. _How cool was that?_

And then, "Peter Parker, Avenger level access, Red-Gold, Special Operations and Research division. Welcome back, Spider-Man."

And then his worldview shattered.

First came the usual wave of guilt and shame that came with thinking about Parker. Then came the anger.

He couldn't help the links forming in his memories. Parker disappearing, the DC trip, _homecoming – _and the Avengers announcement. The Stark suit. The Stark Internship. The injuries Pete – Parker thought he'd managed to hide. Flash had been – worried – about Parker's home life, but evidently there was nothing to worry about.

But.

But. What if there was?

And Flash. Saw. Red.

Parker was a child. He was fifteen. And god, Flash knew too many kids saw more than they needed to.

But Parker was a kid. And that kid was an Avenger.

And the Avengers saw too much death – in some cases cause too much death.

There's something there to say about child soldiers, about how they can be indoctrinated and how they believe that it's their duty. But.

But. Spider-Man has helped Flash. So much. He has helped so many people.

But morally? Did Parker have a choice? Or did he feel pressured into this?

The Stark suit. Was this because of Stark? Spider-Man had been active before the Stark suit, and nothing much changed after that, but did that mean that Stark condoned this?

He needed answers. He needed to know if Parker was safe.

He needed to know.


	3. The Not-So-Bad Day

_**AN: **This is it! Thank you so much for reading, and to all those who commented, I cannot thank you enough! _

_It means a lot to me, and I'm really glad you've liked my first fic on this site!_

_**Small content warning, there's implied neglect and a small mention of physical abuse later in the chapter. Stay safe!**_

* * *

Peter was in a state between hysterical resignation and fear.

Of course this would happen to him. The famous Parker luck strikes again.

He'd faced tense situations before – it was in the job description, after all – but none of them could prepare him specifically for this.

He was ready to reveal his identity, on his own terms. That was what bothered him. This wasn't how he'd wanted this to go down. He was hoping for the big reveal in Vienna before he signed the Accords, which would give him some time for people who knew him to settle before he had to confront them at school. He hadn't thought this through.

Right then, it felt like he was staring down a raging bull. Flash had a visage of controlled calm, but Peter could see how his fingers twitched and how his posture had shifted.

It, well, honestly it unnerved Peter a great deal. He knew Flash was a fan of Spider-Man, most of the residents of Queens were; He was their "home-hero" and some civilians could be fanatics. Flash had been bullying Peter for a while now, but it hadn't always been that way. Peter just assumed he didn't like him and left it at that. That didn't explain Flash's reaction to the announcement, though. Peter was confused, actually.

Putting it lightly, Peter had a strained relationship with Flash. They'd met when they were kids, back when Flash still went by Eugene, and they got along pretty well. Eugene would come over to his Aunt May's after school and they'd play board games and eat snacks, and on the weekends Peter would sometimes stay over at Eugene's place and they'd stay up all night whispering. Things were good.

And sure, maybe they fought sometimes, and maybe Eugene's mom didn't really like Peter that much, but they were best friends.

Then Peter met Ned a year or so back, and he and Eugene drifted apart. At least, that's how he saw it. They hadn't talked much since, until the start of the year after Peter aced a physics test and Flash spat some insults at him. Things hadn't been so good, then.

They were in decathlon club together, and they tried to be civil enough, but the way Peter saw it was that neither of them liked each other and that was all there was to it.

"I guess you guys can't pretend you didn't hear that?" The teens (and teacher, oddly) burst into chatter, talking over one another. Peter ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Okay, so, I'm Spider-Man? If that wasn't obvious? I have been for a while now, and…" Peter trailed off, fiddling with his fingernails. He didn't really know what to say. He glanced at Maria and she nodded for him to continue. "It might be easier for you guys to ask questions, but if you don't mind, could we move somewhere else?"

"That works, I think team room 3 is available for a slot on this floor."

Peter led them to a small conference room off a side corridor from the reception hall, a warmly lit room with soft chairs scattered about. He motioned for them to sit down and paced nervously beside his classmates.

"So how do we want to work this?"

Maria glanced at her watch, "We have time for some questions and then we can get the tour started, get the first few stops done before lunch. We're still on schedule."

"Alright. Who has questions?"

Most hands went up, even Mr Harrington's. Peter picked one of the first hands of his classmates; it was Jason.

"Why are you Spider-man? I mean, how?"

"Ah, well, you guys remember the trip to Oscorp?" Mr Harrington put his face in his hands. "Well, I guess one of their spiders escaped because it bit me? And now I have these weird powers. That's about it, really." His teammates had _oh_ expressions on their faces and nodded.

"Do your webs come out of you?"

"Have you ever met Thor?"

"What's it like to swing around New York?"

"Why'd you never tell us?"

"Oh man, _that's_ why you're so ripped! What's your workout routine?

The questions went on like this for a while, and Peter relaxed the more he talked. Peter laughed off some of the questions and seriously answered others. Once his teammates seemed to get over their initial shock, they were pretty interested in what he had to say.

It was almost fun, that was, before Peter called on Flash. Flash looked sort of bashful, but still determined and there was still a look of anger on his face.

"Is this what _you_ want to do? You aren't being pressured into anything?" Flash's voice wavered through the question, he sounded unsure of himself as he asked.

Peter was pretty taken aback; He'd expected some vitriol over how he was lying or acting out for attention, not what seemed to be genuine concern on his behalf. It was confusing. Flash was confusing.

Peter thought carefully about what he wanted to say; Somehow, he didn't want to disappoint him.

"I became Spider-Man to help people. Originally when I got these abilities I didn't want anything to do with them. I ignored them and got on with life. Then… Well, bad things happened, and I realised that if I have the power to stop the bad things, then that's my responsibility. I became Spider-Man on my own, for other people sure, but nobody forced me into anything."

Flash nodded and seemed to accept this, "And are you _safe_?"

Peter bit his lip. "Avenger work isn't safe work. Life isn't safe for anyone, and it's my job to try and make life as safe as I can for the general public. I'm not safe, but I'm less at risk now than I used to be. When I started out I was clueless, I was running on my brute strength and base senses. Then I started to learn how to fight and developed my webshooters more, and I was safer.

"When Mr Stark came to me looking for help he'd made me a new suit, which was awesome, but it also gave me added physical protection, constant communication if I need it, easier maneuverability, a built-in parachute, and first aid measures if something goes wrong. I'm not totally safe at all in what I do, but we're finding ways of making the Avengers as safe as we can be while we're saving other people. I now also have the support of a close-knit team who I work well with, and trust."

Flash looked conflicted but nodded and thanked him.

The rest of the team looked at Flash a little strangely, but a few of them looked a bit shameful too; they hadn't even considered Peter as their friend in danger. Ned looked grim. He knew what it was like to see Peter shot or stabbed, he had long since lost his naïve excitement over the vigilante.

Maria looked uneasy but thanked them and led them out of the room for their tour to begin.

That hadn't gone so badly after all.

* * *

Eugene met Peter before they were in first grade.

It was one of the borough's parks; Eugene had wandered over from outside of a local shop where his mom had told him to stay, when he spotted the boy sitting on a bench, deep in concentration bent over his crayon drawing, his tongue poking out and brow furrowed. Eugene had sat curiously in the space beside him.

The boy had kept drawing for a while, and startled when he realised he had company, before grinning widely and vividly explaining his drawing (it looked like some squiggles to Eugene, but if the boy thought that was a dog riding a rocket ship who was he to say any different?).

He'd introduced himself as Peter and asked if Eugene wanted to draw with him, and that's how they spent their time before Eugene's mom found him.

Later that night Eugene would comment on how _Peter's eyes were as pretty as your hair, mom_ and go to bed with no dinner. May and Ben would smile indulgently as Peter described his cool new friend.

They were six at the time.

When Eugene started first grade and found Peter, they were fast friends. They spent their days chatting and learning together.

Peter would show him the textbook his uncle had brought home for him, and they'd have fun working through it together. In turn, Eugene would bring in his puzzle books and they'd take turns filling in blanks. Their years went on like this. It was nice, and it was theirs.

When they were nine, Eugene went over to Peter's home for the first time. They hadn't planned it, Eugene had fallen off one of the park swings and twisted his ankle, and they happened to be close by.

May had made a huge fuss over his ankle and iced it with a bag of frozen peas (eyeing those cane-shaped bruises on his calves), and when she was done she gave Eugene a fruit pop. Peter had stayed by his side the whole time and smiled widely when his aunt told him they could go play.

Peter had bounced around his small room, showing Eugene his Star Wars toys and his old retro console that he'd had a few games on. They'd played a few rounds of an old Street Fighter game (Peter won, but Eugene didn't mind, it had been fun) before Peter brought out his half-empty chemistry set.

Eugene had been curious, and his whole face lit up as soon as they started their first experiment. By the end of the night, Eugene had had a new love of Chemistry and a tight feeling in his chest when he waved goodbye to the Parker family.

A while later Peter would come over to Eugene's house, and would later ask Ben why moms and dads were so angry. Ben's heart ached for the small boy who their nephew had found a friend in.

When they were twelve a happy kid from Hawaii would transfer into their class, one with a love of Star Wars to rival Peter's and an even bigger heart.

Peter, Eugene, and the kid, Ned, got along quickly, and Ned was quietly welcomed into their friendship. The three were close and spent a lot of time laughing and watching movies, building Lego sets (one of Eugene's favourite past times) and studying together.

It was when Eugene realised that Peter and Ned were spending more time as Peter and Ned without Eugene that he'd noticed what was happening.

Eugene would resign himself to second best and fade into the background. He'd focus himself in science and chemistry and his music.

That was the year he'd decided to create his new face. He'd become Flash, the charismatic, outgoing guy with loads of friends. Eugene wouldn't try anymore.

And so, Flash came to be. He faked himself some friends, worked hard for his intelligence and kept a smirk on his face most of the time.

The reason Flash was so worried about Peter wasn't that he didn't think he was capable. Flash was worried because he knew Peter was still the idiot he grew up with that was too self-sacrificing for his own good.

* * *

All in all, the trip wasn't that bad.

After they'd gotten past that first roadblock, the trip went really well. Peter still got a few questions while they were walking, but there was nothing too invasive and the group relaxed back into their previous excitement soon enough. In some parts, Peter took over the tour and explained some things, which was a weird experience for everyone involved.

After the first workshop in one of the R&D labs (they'd built bubble-blowing robots and had had a face-off with them), they headed over to the cafeteria for lunch, where there had been a selection of foods available for them to choose from. There was a small platter at the end of the table that Peter had warned them not to eat from though since Vision and DUM-E had prepared it, and he couldn't guarantee any of it was safe to eat.

By that point they'd fallen back into their easy banter, trading insults and jokes as they ate. They were just a group of teens having fun.

The rest of the workshops went without a hitch, and the whole team (especially MJ) had been stunned to meet Tony Stark and Pepper Potts by the end of the tour.

They'd had a quick Q&A session (most of the questions being about the Avengers and Peter, one in particular from Flash asking if Tony worked well with Peter) and the group had been sworn to secrecy until the next day. When asked why the next day, Tony had smirked and winked and said nothing.

Peter had opted to stay at the compound since there wasn't much reason for him to go back to the school, and Mr Harrington agreed because he didn't particularly want to argue with an Avenger.

He gave MJ and Ned a hug and they said their goodbyes, promising they'd talk later, and the class turned to leave. Except for Flash, who had hung back a bit.

He caught Peter's arm gently on his way past, and Peter was compelled to look him in the eye.

"Peter. If – If you ever need anything. If you're in trouble or hurt and you need somewhere to stay. My door's always open for you, really." _I'm sorry _was conveyed through his eyes. He pushed a piece of paper – which Peter could see was his phone number – into his hand before letting go and readying to walk away.

"Thanks, Flash."

"Eugene." He smiled softly.

"Thank you, Eugene." Peter gave him a watery smile.

Eugene gave a playful smirk and ran to join the squad, "Later, loser!"

It hadn't been such a bad day after all.

Mr Stark pulled him against his side, Miss Potts' arm resting across his shoulder.

They'd be alright.


End file.
